Concentricity

Zhong Yong invited a total of five masters, all of whom were veteran shipwrights and carpenters from Changle and Lianjiang. They have rich experience and exquisite skills, and they are easy to make a boat or a piece of furniture. , but no one ever built a warship.

Even so, Mo Jinyan is still like a treasure, and he respects every master.There is a characteristic of craftsmen, if they are not good at learning skills, they will not become teachers. The older they are, the more exquisite their skills will be, and the more eccentric their temper will be. They have their pride.

Mo Jinyan poured tea for each master: "Masters, please drink tea."

Zhong Yong sat at the top, and several masters were jealous of him, and no one dared to drink. Zhong Yong smiled and said: "Masters, there is no need to be polite, please drink tea. This time, everyone is invited to take a boat. I am a layman, and Xiao Mo is an insider." hand, so everything has to be discussed and discussed with you. It’s just that Xiao Mo is young and lacks experience in many things, so I have to ask the masters to give him more guidance.” He stood up, “I have something to do, I will leave first, and you can talk about it in detail. , I leave the shipbuilding to everyone.”

Zhong Yong knew that he was here, and the group of masters felt uncomfortable, so he walked away tactfully.

Mo Jinyan sat down at the bottom and began to make friends with the masters: "Masters, please drink tea. The boy's surname is Mo, and his name is Jinyan. His ancestors also made a living by building ships. Later, his father was unfortunately killed in the Lianjiang Japanese Rebellion. , the boy is not good at learning, so he didn't dare to insult his family, so he changed his career to do something else. Recently, Mr. Zhong wants to build a boat, and knowing that I know a little bit, he asked me to be an intermediary and accompany the masters to build a boat."

A tall and thin middle-aged master was slightly moved: "Your surname is Mo, but what is the relationship with Mo Huaixiang in Xintian?"

Mo Jinyan's face also changed, he stood up and bowed to the end: "So this master knew my late father, but I don't know the name of Master Gao?"

The middle-aged man heaved a long sigh: "It turned out to be the son of an old friend. My surname is Xie. I used to build a boat with your father many years ago. I didn't expect that something happened to him later. This Japanese dog who killed a thousand knives should have been killed a long time ago. They were cut to pieces."

"It turned out to be Uncle Xie. It's hard for you to remember your late father. This time, everyone is invited here to serve as a warship to drive out the pirates." Mo Jinyan took the opportunity to say.

"Building warships?" The faces of several masters present all changed colors.

The corner of Master Xie's mouth twitched: "Nephew Mo Xian, are you joking? Only official shipyards can make warships. If we do it, we will be beheaded."

Mo Jinyan waved his hands: "Don't worry about this matter, we are building ships for the navy, that is, working for officials, not private ships."

Several masters breathed a sigh of relief, and one master pointed out: "None of us has ever made a warship, so we don't know how to do it."

Mo Jinyan smiled and said: "I haven't done it either. But I have a model here, and I know a little about the structure of warships. Let's discuss it together. The masters are all very smart and exquisite in craftsmanship. Although the boat is a little more difficult, we can take our time and it is not impossible. So I will trouble everyone a lot in the future."

When everyone thinks about it, this is the same principle. Regardless of whether the boat is big or small, the principle is the same. Since there is a model, it should not be difficult.

Mo Jinyan said: "Masters are also tired today, I will take everyone to rest, let's discuss the details tomorrow."

The next day, Mo Jinyan took out the ship model and sketches to study with several masters. Everyone was used to carpentry, so they expressed their opinions after seeing it.Listening to everyone's opinions, Mo Jinyan was like enlightened, he suddenly realized, and after some discussion, he gained more than half a year of thinking alone.Mo Jinyan decided that he would participate in the construction of the first ship.

The shipbuilding site is chosen in the bay near Meihuasuo. Large ships are usually built near the water, which is convenient for launching and saves manpower and material resources.

There was no fanfare about the shipbuilding, and it was even kept secret. In order to keep it secret, Zhong Yong specially circled this area, and no one else was allowed to enter.Because even if they are naval divisions, they do not have the right to privately build warships. The warships they need must be reported to their superiors and distributed by the official shipyard.

This time the shipbuilding Zhong Yong also discussed with the magistrate of Changle County. The county magistrate supported this approach very much and allocated a sum of money from the county government as support.They were going to report to their superiors after the ship was ready, saying that they had requisitioned several civilian ships and converted them into warships.

Mo Jinyan simply changed the training location to the boat. He went to practice on the boat for the first half of the day, worked with the masters for the second half of the day, and slept with the masters at night, never going back to the camp.

Master Xie is a veteran shipbuilder. He has been building ships for more than [-] years. He is the oldest of the group of masters. Mo Jinyan let him make the decision.

Master Xie surrounded the wood he had bought, tapped this, looked at that, and finally said: "Nephew, the existing pine, fir and camphor are all good shipbuilding timbers, but according to the characteristics of the boat you mentioned , I think it is best to choose balsa wood and teak wood, balsa wood is light, the boat is light and light, teak wood is water-resistant and fire-resistant, and it is not easy to corrode and deform."

Mo Jinyan nodded and said, "Then I'll find a way to find it."

Master Xie waved his hand and continued: "I'm afraid it's hard to find balsa wood. I haven't seen it a few times. It is said that it is only produced in Yunnan. I may not be able to find it at this time. And the amount of teak wood is small. It’s hard to find. If you can’t find these two kinds of wood, nanmu and cypress are also available. The keel and bottom of a big ship must be made of high-quality wood in order to be strong and durable. The planks and masts are not limited to any wood. whatever."

Mo Jinyan nodded and memorized it carefully, and suddenly thought of another thing. He said that he wanted to build a boat on a temporary basis. The timber was also prepared temporarily. How could there be so many timbers that had been felled and dried long ago? My worry: "Uncle Xie, I'm afraid I won't be able to find so much dry wood for a while."

Master Xie is not worried: "Actually, nanmu is not difficult to buy. Ordinary lumber shops will stock up some. If you can't buy it, you can go to Shaowu Mansion to buy it. Wuyi Mountain is rich in nanmu. Rich people often use nanmu to build houses or make birthday materials. There are a lot of nanmu felled there all the year round.”

"Okay, I'll tell Mr. Zhong right now."

Mo Jinyan and his masters calculated the length and width of various types of wood according to the proportions of the ship model, and processed all the wood with the existing wood.When Mo Jinyan was free in the afternoon, he would come over to chop wood, plan boards, and drill holes together. The shavings, with the fragrance of wood, came out of the planer mouth one by one, and fell at his feet, like flower rolls, very pleasant. It was quickly paved.

Mo Jinyan remembers that when he was a child, he followed his father to do carpentry work. He always liked to step on shavings. He liked to listen to the sound of "creaking and creaking", which was as beautiful as a melody.You can also pick out the most perfect shavings with no damaged edges and put them on your wrists, just like the bracelet on Sister Yun's hand.

Using shavings to light the fire will burn very fast, and the fire will burn up immediately. When Xiao Mo said that he was not very good at using firewood, shavings were his favorite firewood.

Therefore, planing wood is his favorite carpentry job. It is a happy and fulfilling thing to plan the rough wood as smooth as it has been polished.

When they packed up all the wood, the nanmu was finally ready.Thanks to the people in Fujian who love nanmu, they can already find all the wood they need without going to Shaowu. If they go to Shaowu to buy it, it will take at least a month to go back and forth, and the completion of the walk will be indefinitely.

Mo Jinyan built the first batch of boats with a pilgrimage mentality. He recalled a long time ago, when he was with Yu Simian, Yu Simian asked him if he would like to build a big boat if he had the opportunity in the future. It's never possible.Although I haven't built a big ship now, I can already build a warship. It will be a matter of time to build a big ship. Unfortunately, Brother Yu will never see it.

Time is a skilled craftsman who carves wood into smooth planks, strong keels, powerful rudders, lightweight oars, and exquisite lattice windows, all of which are waiting for the skillful hands of the masters to assemble.Mo Jinyan knows every piece of wood, every piece of wood, where they should be placed and how to splice them together, just like a mirror in his heart.

After a busy month, everyone finally saw the first complete walking boat.The walking boat is built according to the model of the ship magnified by [-] times. The captain is more than ten feet long, six feet wide, and the bottom is flat and wide. It is a typical sand ship shape. chase the enemy.

Mo Jinyan thought excitedly, with a walker, he would be able to catch up with the fast boat of the Japanese pirates. As long as he could catch up a little closer, he could shoot arrows to kill the enemy, and the Japanese pirates would no longer be domineering in the river and sea.

After the boat is completed, it needs to be repeatedly oiled with tung oil, air-dried, painted, and air-dried again, so that the water can be tested.

A total of 5 boats were built in the first batch of boats, and the master boatmen were sent home after receiving their wages.Before leaving, everyone was stopped and told that they could not tell anyone that they were building warships, but cargo ships for the government.

After the shipbuilder left, Mo Jinyan also returned to the camp. This was the first time he had returned after leaving for a month.

Meng Changling was practicing archery at the archery range at the moment. When he heard that Mo Jinyan had returned, he hung his bow on his shoulder and ran towards the camp as if he had stepped on a hot wheel.

When he arrived panting, he saw Zhuang Xu hooking Mo Jinyan's shoulders and pulling him out. Meng Changling stopped abruptly and stopped: "Brother Jinyan, you are back? Hello, Mr. Zhuang."

Zhuang Xu waved his hand and dismissed Meng Changling: "Very good, you go and do your work, I'll take Xiaoyan to dinner."

Only then did Meng Changling realize that it was time for lunch, and he stood there motionless, staring at Mo Jinyan and giggling.Mo Jinyan may not have seen this friend for a long time: "Brother Changling, long time no see, how are you doing these days?"

Meng Changling nodded sharply: "Very good, thank you for your concern! Where did Brother Jinyan go, why did it take so long to come back?"

Zhong Yong asked for the shipbuilding to be kept secret, so Mo Jinyan naturally didn’t mention it to anyone else, so he just nodded and said: “Master Zhong arranged for me to go to another place for practice, and I couldn’t come back for a while, so I’ve been there for so long. We’re going to eat , Brother Changling, if you haven’t eaten yet, then let’s go together.”

Zhuang Xu hasn't seen his brother for a long time. He has been busy these days. He hasn't checked the situation for a long time. He doesn't know how the boats are doing. He just wanted to find a chance to talk to his brother and ask about the situation of the boat. Who knew that this guy Meng Changling had come, so he felt a little upset: Why is this kid so ungrateful.

Meng Changling obviously didn't know that Zhuang Xu hated him very much in his heart, so he just went to be happy, so he walked all the way, asking Mo Jinyan about the practice there.Mo Jinyan picked up the training situation in the first half of the day and asked about his training situation.The two asked and answered, leaving Zhuang Xu alone.

Zhuang Xu frowned, thinking that this boy surnamed Meng was disgusting no matter how he looked at him, and he already gave you a lot of face by letting you come to eat, but you still steal Lao Tzu's limelight.

Regardless of what Mo Jinyan and Meng Changling were saying, he coughed loudly and said, "Xiaoyan, my father asked you when you will go home and have a look."

Mo Jinyan quickly turned his head and said, "Master is expecting me to go back? Is he okay? Wait until I go and talk to Mr. Zhong, take a leave of absence, and go back to see Master tomorrow."

Zhuang Xu curled his lips: "Ask for leave with him, I just agree, and you just go back."

Mo Jinyan hesitated for a moment, Zhuang Xu was not happy: "Why, I have a hundred households, and I can't grant you a day off?"

Mo Jinyan shook his head with a smile: "No, brother Xu, we are brothers, it's better to avoid suspicion for a while, so as not to say that you are acting for private interests. I will go to Mr. Zhong to ask for leave, and he will definitely agree. Besides, I am a crossbow The ones in the camp are under Lord Zhong’s management, so it’s more reasonable to ask him to ask for leave.”

Zhuang Xu waved his hand impatiently: "Success, go, go."

Meng Changling saw that the two brothers were almost getting into trouble because of such a trivial matter, so he smiled from the sidelines and said, "Master Zhuang, I think what Brother Jinyan said makes sense, and it's all for everyone's benefit, so why not do it?"

Zhuang Xu rolled his eyes at Meng Changling, and said in his heart: You still need to teach me this?

Meng Changling shrank his neck when he received Zhuang Xu's white eyes.